Two new council members and four incumbents were elected by Chesapeake Beach residents to serve on the town council for the next four years.

Mayor Bruce Wahl, who ran unopposed in the election, received 1,387 votes. Wahl, who was at the town’s polling place, the Northeast Community Center, on Election Day, said he saw a good turnout of voters and he was happy a lot of people cast their vote.

Candidate Jeff Krahling will sit as one of the six council members after receiving the most total votes out of any candidate, with 1,101 votes.

“It’s such a blessing, and I feel so proud to be honored with this,” Krahling said of being elected and receiving the most votes.

Krahling said he believes “the citizens spoke” through their votes. He said he feels working with the other council members will be a great opportunity and he believes they will all be able to move the town forward in a positive direction.

“I’d like to thank everybody that put in their time and their talents, and I’d like to thank them for all of their efforts,” he said. “Thank you to those who prayed for me and I definitely would like to thank my Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.”

Wahl said he has known Krahling since they ran against once another for mayor four years ago and he believes Krahling is “well-prepared for his role” as a council member.

Another new face on the council will be Eric Reinhardt, who received 878 votes. Phone calls to Reinhardt were not returned as of press time Thursday.

Wahl said although he did not know Reinhardt very well, he believes he will “bring a nice perspective” to the council.

With the second highest vote count of 985 votes, incumbent Pat Mahoney was re-elected to the town council for his fifth consecutive term.

“I’m delighted that the citizens have once again voted for me in high numbers to serve them,” Mahoney said. “More so, I’m elated about the council that they chose.”

Mahoney said he believes “the town really sent a message” because the “top four victors” were those who opposed annexation and still hold small town values.

“It’s a wonderful makeup that we have on our council,” he said. “It’s going to be an exciting four years. We hope to do wonderful things for the citizens of our town.”

Incumbent Valerie Beaudin, who recently sparked controversy during an October town meeting by amending the town’s proposed zoning ordinance to remove the bonus density overlay district from Veteran’s Memorial Park to 31st Street, was re-elected to the council after receiving 890 votes.

“Needless to say, I’m absolutely thrilled I was re-elected, but now the real work starts,” Beaudin said. “We really need to deal with Beach Elementary … [and] we still have the water and sewer rate structure.”

Beaudin said she was happy to have “a nice mix of town council folks.” She believes the newcomers will bring new and interesting ideas to the council while the incumbents will bring their experience from having served previously to the table.

“I’m looking forward to serving another four years,” she said.

Incumbent Stewart Cumbo, who received 854 votes, said he was looking forward to serving with the new council and moving forward with the business of the town.

“I’m happy to be re-elected and to continue to serve the town. I was a little disappointed that some of the potential candidates who were running didn’t make the council,” Cumbo said, adding that he thinks “we’ll have a working relationship” with the elected members.

Incumbent Bob Carpenter, who received 850 votes, said he appreciates the confidence the voters have put in him by re-electing him for a second term.

“I see it as they appreciate and approve of the job I’ve done and have asked me to continue to do it, and that’s exactly what I plan to do,” Carpenter said, adding that he plans to be prepared for and attend every meeting that he can and actively participate in the discussions.

Carpenter said he is looking forward to working with the five other council members in the next four years.

“We certainly had disagreements in the course of the campaign … but that’s what campaigns are all about,” he said. “As we move forward, we have to keep in mind what’s in the best interest of the town.”

Wahl said since five of the six incumbents ran for re-election and four of those five people won, “My interpretation of that is that people by and large like what we’ve been doing.”

When asked what issues the new council would deal with first, Wahl said, “There are a lot of things that are out there, especially the utility rates.” He said there were “a lot of opinions expressed about that during the campaign,” adding that he hopes the council can “bring that to a common point of view.”

“I think it may be challenging at times,” Wahl said of the council, “but we’ll see how it materializes. It will be a very different dynamic than it was before … and time will tell, but I’m optimistic.”

Incumbent Julie Spano, with 828 votes, and candidates Wes Donovan, with 740 votes, Frank Purdy, with 604 votes, Jeffrey LaBar, with 481 votes, David Hendry, with 473 votes, and Gail Harris, with 460 votes, were not elected to the council.

The new council will be sworn in at the town’s monthly meeting Dec. 20.